Ironing machine



L. B. IGLAUER IRONING MACHINE Fild July 25 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet 2INVLNTOR. Louls B. Igkxuer ATTORNEY.

July 6,1926. 1,591,316 r L. B. IGLAUER IRONING' MACHINE Filed July 21921 s Sheets-Shoot s 5 Fig.4.

INVLNTOR. Louis B. lgmuev ATTORNEY.

Patented July 6,

UNI-TED STATES 4 mm 3. IGLAUEB, or cmvnumn, 01:10,

ASSIGNOR TO THE LAUNDBYFTTE MANU- 'FACTUBING COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND,OHIO, A CORPORATION OI OHIO.

mounts maonmn.

Application filed July 25,

This invention'relates to ironing machines and has for its main objectsthe provision of a machine wherein the pressure upon the Harts iscreated by the driving motor, thus ecreasing the manual labor required;wherein the amount of this ressure can be instantly and easily adjustewherein the tension can be released instantly in case of accident;wherein the roller may be started and stopped automatically by theposition of .the shoe; and wherein the shoe and roller may also be movedtoward and from each other for certain ln'nds of work without rotationofthe roller. Another object is the provisionof a machine wherein theshoe and roller may be separated more widely than in other machines,thus facilitating waxing or cleaning, decreasing the liability ofaccident, and enabling the pressing of articles not receivable in theusual machine; while further objects and advantages of the inventionwillaplpear as the description proceeds.

In t e drawings accompanying and ing a part of this application I haveshown one of the many physlcal forms in which my inventive ideas can beembodied. Fig. 1 is an end view of my improved ironer; Fig. 2 is adetail view of part of the operating mechanism corres ondlng to thebroken line 2-2 of Fig. 3; Fig. 3 is a detail view of the same operatingmechanism corresponding to the lines 3-3 in Figs. 1 and 2; Fig. 4 1s across-sectional view taken through the roller and shoe; Fig. 5 is adetail view' showing the roller-drive; and Fig. 6 is a view of theroller-drive mechanism taken from the direction opposite to that in Fig.5.

Describing the parts by reference characters 1 and 2 represent theend-uprights or frame members which support the machine, 3 the feedingtable, 4 the receiving table, 5 the roller, and 6 the shoe. The rolleris carried on a shaft 7 which is preferably igurnaled in the uprights in1mmovable arings, while the shoe is movabletoward and from the rollerthrough a considerable distance as shown in Figs. 1 and 4. To effectthis the rear of each upright is formed with a pair of parallel arms8-8, defining between them a slot 9 in vwhich is located a block 10carried by the adjacent end of the shoe. These arms are preferablyinclined downwardly from the roller so that the shoe, when released, maytend to fall away therefrom, and the slots are preferably slightly form-1921 Serial m. 487,464.

wider than the blocks so that the shoe may have a limited rockingmovement as shown in dotted lines in Fi 4, so as to facilitate theinsertion and disc ar e of bulky articles, such as folded sheets antowels.

J ournaled in the end-uprights below the Secured to' the'outer face ofthe upright 1 is a hollow, vertically-elongated, gear box having threechambers therein, indlcated at 18, 19, and 20, and journaled in this boxis an I upright drive-shaft 21 operatively connected to a motor 22 bythe worm gears 23 con- 1 tained in the lowermost chamber, 18. This motoris su ported by a shaft 24 carried by the uprig t 1.

Inside the chamber 19 the shaft 21 is sur- I rounded by a worm 25 and bytwo similar bevel gears, 26 and 27, at opposite ends of the same whichmesh with an idle bevelgear 28 journaled on a stud 29 carried by thechamber wall. Thrust bearings 30, '30 are interposed at both sides ofthe gear 26 which'is located above the ,worm, and one of the gears 26 or27 preferably gear 26, is secured to. the shaft 21 so as to rotatetherewith, the other being free. The inner faces of these gears are.formed with-clutch teeth 31, 31, adapted to cooperate with conipanion'teeth 32 carried by the slidable clutch-spools 33, 34 which are mountedon the reduced ends of the worm 25. These spools are splined to the wormso vas to rotate therewith and are swiveled to a slidable yoke 35carried by the vertically reciprocable rod 36. The worm is located atone side of the end of the shaft 12 which projects through one. side ofthe chamber 19, and loosely mounted on this shaft is the toothed sector40 which meshes with. the worm. The hub of this sector is formed withclutch teeth 41 adapted to be engaged by the complementary teeth of aclutch-spool 42 which is slidably splined on the end of the shaft. 12and operated bythe lever 43. 'Springs 44, 44 carried by the sector 40serve to force its teeth 7 into engagement with the worm 25 in case itbe moved so far in either direction as to become disengaged therefrom.

' portion of the rod 50 is threaded for the re- The upper end of the rod36 is attached to the horizontal arm of a bell-crank-lever 46, whosevertical arm has two connections, one by means of the rod 47 to thecontrol lever 48 which is mounted in any convenient position as forexample at one end of the feeding-board 3; the other consisting of therod 50 whose end passes slidably through the swivel-block 51 carried bythearm 13 and terminates in the head 52. An intermediate ception of theadjustable stop-nut 53.

The upper end of the shaft 21 projects into the chamber 20 and is thereprovided with a universal joint 56 to which is connected ashaft-extension 57 whose free end is journaled in a slidable block 58 insuch wise as to be movable toward and away from the shaft 7, so as toengage and disengage the worm-gears 59, 60 with which these shafts areprovided. This bearing is moved by a cam 61 Whose pivot projects outsidethe gear-box and is provided with a crank 62 adapted to receive thenotch63 of the latch 64, whose opposite end is attached to the arm 13. Thisattachment includes a lostmotion connection such as the slot 65, and ayielding member, such as the spring 66, so as to compensate for varyingtension adjustments and also to enable the gears 59 and 60 to meshtogether properly.

The operation of the machine is as follows:

Assuming the parts to be in the position shown in Fig. 1, the shoe beingheated in any convenient way such as by steam, gas, or electricity, themotor is started by turning the switch 68. The clutch 42 is secured tothe shaft 12 and the latch 64 to the crank 62. The handle 48 is nowtipped toward the operator, thereby raising the rod 36 and connectingthe worm 25 with the gear 26, which drives the sector 40 downwardly andswings the arms 13, 14 inwardly, carrying with them the shoe 6. Thisexerts an increasing pressure upon the springs 16, 16 until theengagement of the block 51 with the stop-nut 53 returns the handle 48 toits initial position and disconnects the worm from its driving member,leaving the shoe under a predetermined tension depending upon theadjustment of the stop 53. The approaching movement of the arm 13 alsocauses the latch 64 to rock the cam 61 and start the rotation of theroll 5, thus putting the machine fully into operation and preventingburning of the goods or padding. When it is desired to release thetension, the handle 48 is rocked in the opposite direction, connectingthe worm with the other of said bevel gears; or if this should be tooslow because of any accidental occurrence, such as the catching of theoperators fingers by the roll, the tension can be released instantly byshifting the lever 43, the shoe receding to a distance determined by theadjustment of the rod 50 which now acts only as a stop. This emergencyclutch is also of use in case the motor should stop while the machine isin use, either by reason of overload, burning out, or failure ofcurrent, which would lead to scorching or igniting the clothing unlessprovision were made for releasing the shoe.

It is also possible with this machine to press mens garments or thedifficult parts of ladies garments which cannot safely be run throughsuch a machine in the ordinary way, merely by holding the latch 64 outof engagement with the crank 62 so that the roll will not be turned asthe pressure is applied.

In case the machine be operated with the emergency clutch 42disconnected there will be nothing to stop the rotation of the worm 25and as a consequence the sector 40 will merely run off the end of thisworm after which the. worm will rotate idly, suflicient clearance havingbeen provided to permit this. As soon as the direction of this rotationis reversed the sector'becomesreengaged by the action of the springs 44,thus enabling the re-engagement of the clutch 42 when this sectorreaches the proper position.

It will be understood that many changes can be made in the design,arrangement, and construction of this machine within the scope of myinvention. I I do not limit myself to a construction wherein the roll isfixed and only the shoe is movable; I do not limit myself to thedescribed means for supporting and guiding the-shoe; I do not restrictmyself to the particular mechanism for moving the shoe or operating theroll; and in general I do not confine the protection sought hereby inany wise except as specifically recited in my claims or necessitated bythe state of the prior art.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is: i

1. In an ironing machine, the combination, with a shoe and a rollermounted for relative movement,.one toward and away from the other, ofmechanism including a spring and a reversible gearing for effecting suchmovement, a motor for driving said concavely cylindrical and havingblocks at its ends which slide in said slots, said blocks being narrowerthan said slots whereby said shoe may have a limited rocking movement,and means for moving said blocks simultaneously along their respectiveslots.

3. In an ironing machine, in combination, a pair of spaced framemembers, a roller journaled in said frame members, a shoe carried bysaid frame members at one side of said roller and movable laterallytowards and from said roller, a rock-shaft journaled in said framemembers and having arms, op-

erative connections between said arms and shoe, said connectionsincluding springs, a motor carried by said frame, mechanism whereby saidmotor may rotate said shaft in either direction, means for automaticallydisconnecting said motor from said mechanism and holding said shaftstationary when a' predetermine tension has been plaoed upon saidsprings and manual means for releasing said rock-shaft to relieve thetension of said spring independently of said motor.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto afix my y signature.

LOUIS NB. IGLAUER.

